Recent concealed-carry study shows that relaxing carry laws does not increase violent crime

A study published in the January 2019 issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons concluded that violent crime is by no shape or form influenced by our right to bear arms. The new study emphasizes that there is no statistical connection between allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons and an increase in violent crime. This conclusion held true even after considering and analyzing other factors that are said to contribute to crime such as poverty and unemployment.

The authors, who are part of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership (DRGO), analyzed 30 years’ worth of data on state-level legislation regarding concealed carry and its potential relationship with violent crime. These numbers were collected from the U.S. Department of Justice Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1986 to 2015. General multiple linear regression models were used.

These findings lend weight to the argument that the Second Amendment is valid and reasonable and should not be impinged upon just because deranged Leftists claim “children’s rights.” Remember that currently, both legal review and public opinion remain significantly divided on the issue on gun control and firearms violence. Popular media outlets would have you believe that our supposed disregard for children’s safety (manifested in how many states have relaxed their concealed carry laws) has directly resulted in more violent crime — especially towards the young.

Over the past 10 years, CDC data continue to demonstrate that unintentional injury caused by a firearm is one of the leading causes of death for young adults, following homicides and suicides, with a large number involving a gun. Furthermore, data clearly show that state legislative changes have resulted in increased liberalization of concealed carry. This means that laws have been updated to increase the ability of civilians to purchase and carry firearms legally outside of their homes.

The “logical” argument bandied about by gun critics is that the latter has caused the former, but evidence has always shown a negligible association between the two. The new study further emphasizes this, with the authors stressing that “these important findings should inform further public policy research to help determine root causes and solutions to firearm-related homicide and violent crime in the future.”

The Left says to look at the facts; we are, and they state “no”

This dystopian society is being taught the language of “double speak.” Everything that is factual is the truth — but only if it agrees with public opinion. Gun control is one of the most controversial topics in our country today, mainly because so many children have died or have been harmed by mentally unstable people with a gun. Those who advocate for the Second Amendment are called unfeeling bigots who actually wish for children to die.

But the fact is: Data on the relationship between concealed-carry laws and an increase in violent crime is limited, inconclusive, or non-existent. Several studies on the subject (which, incidentally, are hard to find on popular search engines, such as Google) conclude that “it is not possible to reach any scientifically supported conclusion [about this relationship]…the evidence to date does not adequately indicate either the sign or magnitude of a causal link between the passage or right-to-carry laws and crime rates.”

It does seem that public opinion about gun control is shifting, however. A recent Gallup poll indicated that more than half of Americans believed that the U.S. would be safer if more citizens were allowed to legally carry concealed weapons. In addition, more people believe that the presence of a gun (or several guns) would make a home safer; 63 percent in 2014, up from only 35 percent in 2000.

Sources include:

PersonalDefenseWorld.com

JournalACS.org

RAND.org